Greetings,
By God’s grace, we have just completed another semester here at Columbia. While it was a difficult year in some ways, it was still a fruitful time of ministry. A few days before the writing of this newsletter, Columbia had its graduation ceremony. We were able to greet and celebrate with many of our graduating seniors’ parents, and prayerfully sendoff seniors out into the brave new world of adulthood.
We ended the year with great momentum which we hope to carry into next year. In the final few days of the semester, our socials team held a picnic which was well attended. The students had fun playing various games, having a dance competition, and eating Chipotle burritos. We also had an end-of-year study break for students where we bought 250 Chick-Fil-A sandwiches and gave them out on campus. The event was well received. All the sandwiches were gone in a matter of minutes, and we were able to promote Christian Union’s ministry to students at Columbia.
We earnestly desire your prayers in the following ways:
- This past election season created tension within our student body. It was challenging ministering to students that refused to be gracious to other students with whom they disagreed. Many students also are upset with staff because we refused to openly take certain political positions that they deemed necessary we take. Pray that the students move forward in unity as a ministry now that the election cycle has ended.
- We are very optimistic about our new student executive team. We believe we have four leaders that can take the ministry in a positive direction. Please pray that these student leaders are as effective as they can possibly be.
- We are already planning for freshman campaign this fall. Pray that our outreach to incoming freshman over the summer is effective.
The faculty of Christian Union at Columbia continue to be thankful for your ongoing support. Thank you for prayerfully and financially partnering with us as we seek to proclaim the kingdom of God and disciple students at Columbia.
Grace to you always,
Bryant Parsons
Christian Union Ministry Fellow
Columbia University
